


Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd, and Twelve is Just Perfect

by BroomballKraken



Series: Gloucester-Gautier Family Fics [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Family Fluff, M/M, Mentioned Raphael/Ignatz, Post-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:06:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23754310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BroomballKraken/pseuds/BroomballKraken
Summary: As their oldest child is about to attend the Officers Academy, the entire Gloucester-Gautier family gathers to say goodnight and hear a story about their fathers' own days at the academy. It is then that Sylvain and Lorenz are reminded that they have truly been living a blessed life together.
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier/Lorenz Hellman Gloucester
Series: Gloucester-Gautier Family Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867843
Comments: 7
Kudos: 29





	Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd, and Twelve is Just Perfect

“Dad, do you think I have enough books on magic?”

“You could fill your own library with how many you own, Azalea.”

“Hmm, Father? What do you think?”

“I wholeheartedly agree. You might have to leave some behind, my dear.”

Sylvain snorted to keep from laughing at the sour look that crossed their oldest daughter’s face as she listened to Lorenz. It had been 13 years since Sylvain and his husband had adopted their first children, Azalea and Alder, and their family had only grown exponentially since then. They now jointly governed Gloucester territory with ten children who they loved and cherished more than anything. The only thing that compared was their love for each other.

“But Father...I need to keep studying all that I can! I don’t want to fall behind as soon as I start classes!” Azalea said, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her finger as she paced nervously next to Sylvain and Lorenz’s bed. Sylvain smiled and shook his head. Azalea had grown into a wonderful young lady, and she really had nothing to worry about.

“Lea, you worry too much!” Sylvain turned to look at Marigold, who was lying at the foot of the bed, her sketchbook open and pens of various colors scattered on top of the blanket. Sylvain hoped that none of them had made their way under the sheets to give him and Lorenz a nasty surprise later.

“I guess…” Azalea mumbled, a small smile crossing her face as she sat down on the edge of the bed, ruffling her younger sister’s messy head of black hair. Marigold giggled and held up the picture she was working on for her sister to look at, and Sylvain’s attention was drawn away by the fussing of the baby in his arms.

“Oops, sorry Lavender. Forgot I was feeding you for a moment,” Sylvain said, smiling down at the purple eyed girl gazing up at him, lip quivering as she threatened to burst into tears. Sylvain quickly started feeding her again, and Lavender calmed down immediately, causing him to sigh with relief.

“That was a close one, darling. We just got the two of them to stop crying, you know,” Lorenz said, glancing up at Sylvain before turning his full attention back to the baby he held, “Little Rose here must have been starving, with how quickly she’s eating.” Sylvain chuckled as Rose briefly let go of the bottle’s nipple to hiccup before quickly latching back on.

“Heh, with the way she’s going, she’s gonna be as big of an eater as her uncle Raphael,” Sylvain mused, and Lorenz grimaced.

“I do hope not. We won’t be able to afford to feed her if that happens.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely right about that.”

Sylvain and Lorenz both laughed, and a soft chuckle came from the corner of the room, where Alder sat reading in a chair. He glanced up from his book, blue bespectacled eyes meeting Sylvain’s. Sylvain recalled when Alder was first adopted; He was so quiet that Sylvain and Lorenz thought that he was mute, until Azalea told them that he wasn’t. He just didn’t like speaking unless it was important.

When Alder did speak for the first time, four months after being adopted, it was to say ‘Dad, Father, I love you’, and Lorenz cried about it for three hours afterwards. Sylvain had teased the hell out of him for it, but he would have been lying if he said that he hadn’t also shed a few tears as well.

“Daddy! Father! It’s raining!”

Sylvain looked up as the door was flung open, and Violet burst into the room, soaking wet and covered in mud as she dragged in her twin brother Sage by his arm. Little Jasmine followed behind them, one thumb stuck in her mouth as her other hand was preoccupied with holding a stuffed teddy bear. Sylvain glanced at Lorenz, who cringed and quickly shook his head.

“Yes, yes, I see that. Please Violet, go and clean yourself up! You are tracking mud everywhere!” Lorenz said, gesturing to their bathroom on the other side of the room with his head. Violet groaned but relented, trudging off to the bathroom with Jasmine close behind, who seemed to have been playing outside as well, due to her white hair sticking to her face. Sage snorted and brushed himself off before going to sit by the window. He opened the book he was holding and shoved his face into it, ignoring everyone in the room. Sylvain knew that Sage was the more serious of their children, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sylvain just wished that he would lighten up a little sometimes.

“Heyahh!”

After a few minutes, Violet charged back into the room and threw herself onto the bed, rolling onto her stomach as she grinned at her parents. Marigold pouted when some of her pens were knocked off of the bed.

“Aw, Vi! You almost crushed my drawing!” she said, and Violet turned to look at her, before leaning over the side of the bed to pick up the dropped pens.

“Sorry! Here ya go!” Violet said. Marigold seemed to forgive her quickly, for she just smiled and took the pens back. Sylvain grinned as he watched them, but he suddenly noticed that something was off about Violet.

“Hey, did you lose another eyepatch?” Sylvain said, and Violet blinked her right eye as she lifted a hand to where her left would have been, if she had been born with it.

“Oops! I guess I did!” Violet said, shrugging nonchalantly. “That one was getting old anyway. I want a cooler one that makes me look tough! That has, like, flames on it or something!”

“Oh dear…” Lorenz said, sighing as he shook his head. “Why do you feel the need to look tough?” Sylvain turned his face away to snicker at his husband’s exasperation. Violet’s eyes went wide, before a toothy grin crossed her face as she stood up on the bed.

“Because,” she said loudly as she punched at the air in front of her, “I want to be as big and strong as uncle Raph someday! And I need to look tough too!”

“You need to sit down before you fall on the babies.” Azalea chimed in as she grabbed Violet by the arms and gently pushed her back to the bed, as well as she could with Jasmine clinging tightly to her legs. Violet grumbled as she let herself be sat down, and she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

“I dunno, Vi. It might take you a while to get as strong as Raphael. You barely come up to his waist right now,” Sylvain said, and Violet glowered at him.

“Psh, I could beat him! I’m gonna fight him when he and uncle Ig visit next!” she declared, pumping a fist in the air again, “I’ll show you how strong I am.”

“Don’t get too carried away-” Lorenz started to scold, but he suddenly yelped in pain. Sylvain turned to see that Rose had grabbed a fist-full of Lorenz’s long hair and was yanking it hard, giggling with glee at the expense of her poor father.

Luckily for Lorenz, Alder had moved quickly to his side and gently pried Rose’s hand open, releasing Lorenz’s hair. He then grabbed the ribbon sitting on the nightstand and gathered the long purple locks into a messy bun.

“Ah, thank you Alder,” Lorenz said, sighing with relief, “It’s been a while since I’ve forgotten to put my hair up before holding the babies…”

“Yeah, and Rose made you pay for it.” Sylvain chimed in, earning an annoyed huff from his husband. Rose started fussing, having been relieved of her fun ‘toy’, but Alder reached down and gave her his index finger to hold onto. She grabbed it and babbled happily, and Sylvain smiled at how fondly Alder looked down at his baby sister.

“Would you like to hold her?” Lorenz asked, and Alder nodded, a bright smile crossing his face when Lorenz placed Rose in his arms. Sylvain’s own smile got brighter as he gazed around the room at their children. They were all so different, adopted from all kinds of different situations, but yet they all got along so well in spite of that. But...there were still a couple missing.

“I wonder what kind of trouble Iris and Yarrow are getting up to now?” Sylvain said as he placed Lavender’s empty bottle on his nightstand, as she had promptly fallen asleep after finishing it. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and a moment after, it opened.

“Pardon me, sirs,” one of their butlers, Renald, said as he entered the room and bowed, “I fear that I have caught some of your children somewhere they should not be...again.” Sylvain sighed and shook his head when Renald pulled Iris and Yarrow into the room behind him. Iris had a piercing glare on her face as she struggled to free herself, while Yarrow sniffled as tears fell down his face.

“Iris...What did you do now?” Lorenz said, crossing his now free arms over his chest as a disappointed frown crossed his face. Iris finally freed herself and rushed to the bed, turning to stick out her tongue at Renald. Renald released his hold on Yarrow, who immediately rushed to Lorenz and clambered into his lap to cry into his chest.

“She and her accomplice - unwilling or otherwise - were caught trying to pilfer pastries from the kitchens. Again.” Renald said with a rehearsed tone. This was a familiar scene when it came to Iris, ever the mischievous child of the Gloucester-Gautier family. And poor Yarrow was the timid child, who could always be easily persuaded to join in on Iris’ troublemaking schemes.

“Apologies, Renald. We will take care of this. Thank you,” Lorenz said calmly, and Renald took another bow.

“Very well. Goodnight everyone.” he said, and he left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Iris…” Lorenz said as he rubbed Yarrow’s back to try and calm the still-crying boy, “We have told you countless times not to steal from the kitchens. Ask first.”

“I did…” Iris said, averting her gaze. “Renald said it was too late for sweets.”

“You should have left it at that, then.”

“...He didn’t have to be such a _bastard_ about it though…” Iris mumbled, and the rest of the children in the room bristled when the profane word left her mouth. Sylvain blanched and tensed up, while Lorenz looked like he was about to have a stroke.

“My gods, Iris! Where did you learn such a foul word?” he asked, although the death glare that he was sending Sylvain’s way made him think that Lorenz already knew the answer to that question.

“Well, Father,” Iris said, shrugging, “Daddy said it when he was talking about Grandpa-”

“Shh! You weren’t supposed to tell him that!” Sylvain hissed through grit teeth, and when he saw that Lorenz was still glaring daggers at him, he let out a nervous chuckle. Sylvain was glad that he was currently holding a baby, because if he wasn’t Lorenz probably would have smacked him upside the head.

“Well, now that we're all here, can I please get some advice for tomorrow?” Azalea said, her brow furrowing with annoyance, and Sylvain sighed, thankful for the interruption. Lorenz glowered at him for a few moments longer, before turning to their oldest daughter.

“Very well. We will talk about this later, _darling_ ,” Lorenz said, and the way he emphasized the word of endearment left Sylvain feeling anything but endeared.

“And,” Lorenz added, glancing at Iris, “We will also be having a talk, young lady, with you and your brother here.” Yarrow sniffed and finally pulled himself away from Lorenz’s chest.

“Sorry…” he said as he rubbed his eyes. Iris sighed and rolled onto the bed, pressing her face into the blankets.

“Yeah, sorry.” she mumbled, before rolling over again onto her back.

“Alright, good. Anyway, ask away, Azalea,” Sylvain said, “You’ve got two former Officers Academy students right here.” Azalea smiled as she sat down on the edge of the bed on Sylvain’s side.

“Um, well, did you guys know any of your classmates before you attended? I’m...afraid that I won’t make any friends.” Azalea said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she bit her bottom lip.

“Oh, nonsense,” Lorenz said, shaking his head, “You are a brilliant and kind young lady. You will make many friends.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Sylvain chimed in, “And you will know someone. Ignatz said that Annalise is attending the academy this year too.”

“Oh yeah!” Azalea said, her eyes lighting up, ”I totally forgot that she mentioned that in her last letter.” She let out a giggle before continuing, “She said that her parents keep fretting about every little thing.”

“Oh, I’m sure Ignatz and Raphael are. She is their only child, after all.” Lorenz mused, and Sylvain nodded in agreement.

“Hey! You guys met at the academy, right?” Violet suddenly asked, and the rest of the children immediately turned their attention to their fathers. Sylvain noticed that even Sage was now looking their way curiously over the top of his book.

“Yeah, we sure did.” Sylvain said, glancing at Lorenz, who met his gaze and smiled.

“Oooh, were you in the same class?”

“What was your first meeting like?”

“Was it love at first sight?”

Marigold, Violet, and Iris fired off the questions rapidly as they scooched closer to their parents on the bed, and Sylvain laughed when Lorenz’s face flushed a bright pink. Yarrow, Sage, Alder, and Jasmine silently looked on from where they sat, and Azalea let out an exasperated sigh as she mumbled about not getting any more real questions answered tonight.

“Hey, hey, slow down. One question at a time.” Sylvain said with a grin. “First, we were not originally in the same class. I started out as a Blue Lion, while your father here was a Golden Deer.”

“Yes, and why don’t you tell them exactly _why_ you switched over to my class?” Lorenz said, and Sylvain let out a nervous laugh. Yeah, there was no chance in hell that Sylvain was going to tell his children that the only reason he switched classes was because he thought that the professor of the Golden Deer was hot.

“It’s not important! Anyway, your father took one look at me and fell head-over-heels in love-”

“I most certainly did _not_.” Lorenz cut Sylvain off, eyes narrowing as the girls in the room groaned with disappointment.

“Okay, okay,” Sylvain said, “That’s not how it went. We...actually didn’t like each other when we first met.”

“Really?!?” Marigold gasped, hands flying to her cheeks, “But you love each other so much now!” 

“Heh, well, we both were kind of a pair of insufferable jerks back then,” Sylvain said, shrugging as well as he could with a sleeping baby in his arms, “It’s amazing how five years can change a person.”

“Hmm, yes. Especially when those five years are during a war,” Lorenz said, “If someone would have told me during that year at the academy that we would end up married with ten children, I would have laughed in their face.”

“Love you too, dear,” Sylvain said, a toothy grin crossing his face as he leaned over and placed a light kiss on Lorenz’s cheek, causing the latter to blush. This was met with mixed reactions from the children, ranging from delighted ‘awws’, exaggerated gagging noises, and exasperated eye rolls.

“So how did you end up together, then?” Violet asked, her eyes wide and curious as she looked back and forth between her parents. Lorenz’s face flushed a deeper shade of red, and Sylvain jumped at this chance to tease his husband.

“Yeah, babe, why don’t you tell them every detail of that night?” Sylvain said, and Lorenz’s eyes narrowed into a heated glare as he turned to look at his husband.

“Well…” Lorenz started, his gaze softening when he looked back at their children, “Five years after the war began, our class reunited at Garrag Mach, and under Claude and our professor’s leadership, we began to fight back against the Empire’s forces.” Sylvain chuckled at the wide eyed, attentive stares that Lorenz was receiving from all of their children. Even Sage had moved from his isolated spot by the window and was now sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I myself had done a lot of thinking over those five years, mostly concerning my boorish behavior towards many of my classmates, including your dad.” Lorenz continued, glancing at Sylvain as he smiled, “I met him atop the Goddess Tower that night and apologized.”

“I also apologized,” Sylvain chimed in, “and, well, I decided that your father was a pretty good guy, and...well, what happened next, Lorenz?” Sylvain watched with glee as Lorenz sputtered for a moment. Sylvain knew that he couldn’t tell their children what actually happened that night, so he was very interested to see how Lorenz got himself out of this one.

“Er, w-we, ah, just had...tea together and decided that we want to start, ahem, courting each other.” Lorenz said, bringing a hand to his face as he cleared his throat.

“Heh, if that’s what you wanna call it…” Sylvain mumbled, and Lorenz jabbed him in the side with his elbow, and luckily for Sylvain it did not jar him hard enough to wake up Lavender.

“Aww, that’s so romantic!” Marigold said with a dreamy sigh. Most of their children giggled and nodded in agreement, but Sylvain stole a glance at the older ones, who looked a bit uncomfortable. Alder’s face was flushed a bright red and he was staring at the floor, while Azalea looked like she had just eaten a rotten egg and was scarred for life by it. Sylvain snickered; he figured that the older children were smart enough to figure out what had _actually_ happened.

“Anyway, we continued our relationship until the end of the war. When we finally were able to sneak away from the chaos of the post-war dealings, your dad and I had a celebratory spot of tea.” Lorenz continued.

“Oooh, what happened then?” Iris asked. Lorenz chuckled and reached over to take Sylvain’s left hand in his, his fingers brushing over the golden ring that he wore.

“Well, Iris, what happened was that I asked the most amazing man that I had ever met to marry me.” Lorenz said softly. Sylvain chuckled as their eyes met, before he turned back to their children with a wink.

“And wouldn’t you know it, I had plans to do the same thing. We both proposed to each other at the same time.” Sylvain winced as Violet, Marigold, and Iris all let out delighted squeals.

“Oh my gosh! That’s so cute!” Violet said, shaking with barely contained excitement.

“It’s kind of hard to believe that you two were so romantic, considering how much you tease each other now.” Azalea finally said, a grin crossing her face as the rest of the children laughed.

“Hey now! There’s nothing wrong with a little friendly banter.” Sylvain said, a faux look of offense crossing his face.

“‘A little’, he says... “ Lorenz mumbled as he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, you love every second of it, babe.”

“Hmm, perhaps.”

“Well, anyway,” Sylvain said, stifling a yawn as he glanced out the dark, rain-pelted window, “It’s getting pretty late, and some of us have an early day tomorrow.” Most of their children groaned in protest, but a chorus of yawns soon followed, betraying how tired they all truly were.

“Lea, I don’t want you to go!” Jasmine suddenly cried, and she sniffled as she hugged her sister's legs, pressing her face against her thigh.

“Aw, c’mon Jas. I’ll be back before you know it.” Azalea said, gently patting her younger sister’s head. Jasmine pouted as she looked up and rubbed her eyes.

“Promise?”

“I do. And I’ll be sure to bring everyone gifts, okay?”

“Yay!”

Sylvain handed baby Lavender to Azalea as the rest of their children piled on the bed to say goodnight, and soon only Azalea, Alder, and the baby twins remained in the room. Alder continued to cradle Rose in his arms as he leaned over to give both Lorenz and Sylvain a kiss on the cheek.

“...’Night. Love you, Father, Dad.” Alder said softly. It was a rare thing, but the sound of Alder’s voice always made Sylvain’s heart swell with happiness every time he heard it.

“We love you too, dear Alder. Goodnight, and goodnight to you too, little Rose.” Lorenz said, placing a kiss on the sleeping baby’s forehead.

“Goodnight.” Sylvain added, and he watched as Alder left the room. Azalea and Lavender were the only two left, and their oldest daughter hugged and kissed her fathers as best she could with a baby in her arms. As she bid them goodnight and made for the door, she paused in the threshold and turned to look at Sylvain and Lorenz.

“Dad, Father,” she said, a small smile crossing her face as her eyes grew shiny with moisture, “Thank you both, for everything that you’ve done for me, and for all of us. I could not have asked for more wonderful, loving parents. I love you both so much.” Sylvain smiled back at her, a feeling of immense pride crashing over him like an ocean wave. It seemed like only yesterday he and Lorenz had walked out of that orphanage with a 3-year-old Azalea and a barely one-year-old Alder. They had both grown into exceptional young adults, and there was no doubt in Sylvain’s mind that Azalea would blow everyone away with her smarts and charm at the Officers Academy.

“Azalea, my dear,” Lorenz said as he slipped his hand into Sylvain’s, “We love you too, and we are so, so proud of the wonderful young lady that you’ve become.”

“Yeah, we know you’ll kick ass at the academy.” Sylvain chimed in, ignoring Lorenz’s heated glare. Azalea giggled and shook her head.

“You two will never change. Goodnight.” she said, and she, along with baby Lavender, left the room. Sylvain let out a deep sigh as he lay back on his pillows.

“Whew, talk about an exciting night. Who knew that raising ten kids would be such a crazy experience, eh Lorenz?” he said, chuckling as he turned to his husband. The smile fell from his face and he sat back up when he realized that Lorenz was crying.

“Hey, love, what’s wrong?” Sylvain said, his brow furrowing with worry as he wrapped his arms around Lorenz and pulled him into his lap. Lorenz said nothing for a moment, and Sylvain rubbed his back gently as his husband cried against his chest. When Lorenz finally lifted his head back up, Sylvain gently wiped the tears from his face as he looked deep into those beautiful amethyst eyes.

“I...I am sorry, Sylvain,” Lorenz said, chuckling softly as he reached up to cup Sylvain’s face in his hands, “I was just...overcome with emotion at how much of a joy my life has been ever since that night at the Goddess Tower. I-I never thought that I would ever be this happy...be this loved by so many people.”

“Aw geez, cut that out,” Sylvain said, rolling his eyes as he pressed his forehead against Lorenz’s, “You’re just as deserving of love and happiness as I am. We both had some fucked up upbringings, sure, but we fought our way out of the shadows of our shitty fathers. You’re a damn good husband, Lorenz, and a damn good father. There’s no one else I’d rather be raising a family with.” A few more tears fell down Lorenz’s face, and Sylvain brushed them away with his lips, before he moved to find Lorenz’s and kiss him tenderly.

“Thank you, Sylvain,” Lorenz said when he pulled away, “I love you most ardently, and I will always love you, as long as I have breath in my lungs and a beating heart in my chest.” Sylvain tried and failed to stop himself from bursting out laughing, and Lorenz pouted at him.

“What?” he said, huffing as he turned his head away. Sylvain managed to compose himself, and he placed a hand on Lorenz’s cheek, moving his head so that Lorenz was looking at him again.

“You’re just so cheesy and dramatic all the time. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Well, _excuse me_ for being honest about my feelings.”

“C’mon babe, you know I’m teasing you.” Sylvain slipped a hand behind Lorenz’s head, his fingers easily sliding through his silky smooth hair as Sylvain kissed him again. Lorenz resisted for a moment, before ultimately giving in as he tilted Sylvain’s head up to deepen the kiss. When they eventually pulled away, breathless, Sylvain kissed the tip of Lorenz’s nose, and they both laughed softly.

“I love you, Lorenz.”

“And I love you, Sylvain.”

Sylvain was about to suggest that they get ready for bed, but Lorenz pulled away from Sylvain as he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Ah, yes before I forget…” Sylvain yelped when Lorenz smacked him upside the head.

“Hey! What the hell was that for?” Sylvain asked, pouting as he rubbed at the offended skin.

“You know exactly what that was for,” Lorenz said, “You cannot keep using vulgar language in front of our children! I will let it slide if it’s Azalea or Alder because they are older, but the others are too young to know when it is not appropriate to use such words.”

“C’mon, babe. The only reason Iris overheard me say that was because she snuck into the last Roundtable meeting,” Sylvain said, resting his hands behind his head as he leaned back, “She’s a sneaky one. Too clever for her own good.”

“Be that as it may,” Lorenz said, sighing as he lay back against his own pillows, “Please be better about watching your mouth around our children, Sylvain.” Sylvain’s lips slowly turned upward into a sly smile as he propped himself up on one elbow.

“Heh, but I thought you _liked_ my filthy mouth, Lorenz,” Sylvain said, his voice dropping low as he shifted closer to his husband. His nose brushed against Lorenz’s neck ever-so-lightly, and he felt Lorenz shiver and swallow thickly.

“W-Well,” Lorenz mumbled, his face flushing as he averted his gaze, “I would be lying if I said that I didn’t like it in a very...specific context.” Sylvain chuckled and dragged his teeth up Lorenz’s jawline until his lips reached his ear.

“Hmm...Maybe I’ll have to remind you just how much you like it,” Sylvain whispered, nibbling lightly on Lorenz’s earlobe. Lorenz inhaled sharply, and he moved a hand to Sylvain’s face, slender fingers slipping through the thick hair of his beard. Sylvain leaned back, his brown eyes meeting the most beautiful amethyst, and the amount of affection and love that he saw in Lorenz’s intense gaze made his heart soar.

“Oh...p-please do, my dear,” Lorenz said, and that was all that Sylvain needed to hear. Rolling on top of Lorenz, Sylvain’s lips captured his in a heated kiss, and a low moan rumbled through his chest. Lorenz’s hands found their way under Sylvain’s nightshirt, while Sylvain’s hands slowly slipped down to Lorenz’s waist…

“...Daddy? Father?”

Sylvain suddenly found himself being thrown off of Lorenz so hard that he almost went careening off the side of the bed. He managed to catch himself before actually falling off, and when he turned to snap at his husband, he caught sight of Yarrow standing in the threshold of their room, head tilted curiously and a blanket draped over his shoulders.

“Ah, Y-Yarrow, my darling. Is something the matter?” Lorenz stammered, face flushed bright red with embarrassment. Sylvain snickered as he settled himself back in bed, and Lorenz shot him a warning look.

“Can’t sleep, buddy?” Sylvain asked, and Yarrow opened his mouth to answer, but the sudden, deafening thunder that crashed from the storm raging outside caused him to yelp and run to the side of the bed.

“Ah, I see,” Lorenz said, gently rubbing Yarrow’s head as he pressed his face against Lorenz’s legs. “The storm has you scared?” Yarrow lifted his head slightly to nod, and he sniffled as a few tears ran down his face. Lorenz turned to share a glance with Sylvain, and they smiled softly at each other.

“Well, climb on up. You can stay with us tonight,” Sylvain said, and Yarrow immediately scrambled onto the bed, nestling himself between his fathers.

“But next time you have to try really hard to stay in your own bed. The storm will not hurt you.” Lorenz said, tucking the blankets around Yarrow as he nodded.

“I...I’ll try…” Yarrow said, yawning softly as his eyes drifted shut, “I love you Daddy. I love you, Father.” Lorenz let out a quiet chuckle as he and Sylvain watched Yarrow drift off to sleep.

“Well, I guess we’d better get some sleep too, huh?” Sylvain whispered, reaching over Yarrow to grab Lorenz’s hand and entwine their fingers together.

“Hmm, yes. Like you said, we do have a busy day tomorrow.” Lorenz said as he lay down and pressed his forehead against Sylvain’s. Their lips met in a quick, chaste kiss, and when Sylvain’s eyes met Lorenz’s, his heart skipped a beat at the immense amount of love he saw in those deep pools of amethyst.

“I love you, Sylvain. Always and forever.”

“Yeah, I love you too, Lorenz. Thanks for being the best husband that I could’ve ever asked for.” Sylvain’s eyes slipped shut, and he heard Lorenz chuckle beside him.

“Likewise.”

It was a hectic life they both lived, as joint rulers of an entire territory and loving fathers to ten rambunctious children. However, it was also a beautiful and fulfilling life, one that neither Sylvain nor Lorenz would change for anything in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Trying to bust myself out of this super not fun quarantine-induced writer's block by writing some family fluff with my Three Houses OTP! Raphael and Ignatz are mentioned in this fic because they are my second TH OTP, and I headcanon that those two are really good friends with Sylvain and Lorenz post-war, so much so that they're all honorary uncles to each other's children.
> 
> Anyway, Sylvain and Lorenz have a lot of children, so uh if anyone wants more info, I made a twitter thread about their many kiddos: https://twitter.com/BroomballKraken/status/1205245994067202053
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
